Concept of privatization reform showcased at Ukraine's National Reforms Council

A concept of privatization reform was showcased at a Tuesday meeting of the National Reforms Council chaired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Some 3,600 enterprises are state-owned in Ukraine. One in five is unprofitable, wage arrears in such structures amount to UAH 2.9 billion (US$108.7 million). Some UAH 500 million (US$18.7 million) in receipts from privatization was transferred to the national budget and over 800 auctions were announced in the five months of 2020," the president's press service said.

The number of participants in privatization auctions has doubled in 2020, Dmytro Sennychenko, the head of the State Property Fund (SPF) of Ukraine, said at the meeting. The SPF has developed an online store that contains information on privatization.

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Sennychenko added a comprehensive bill had been prepared with the Fund's involvement that should introduce the procedure for transferring facilities into private ownership, improve the privatization process, and ensure its institutional capacity.

It is the Cabinet of Ministers that should decide on the allocation of facilities for privatization if the management body has no grounds to keep the assets in its ownership, debts of a company considered for privatization exceed 50% of the value of its assets, or a facility is used inefficiently or is in a tax lien for the intended purpose.

In addition, the officials discussed proposals regarding a plea agreement, which should ease the courts' work and ensure the inevitability of punishment. The president considers this idea is still raw to be implemented, therefore he proposes the relevant bill should be finalized.

As UNIAN reported, an EU envoy earlier listed the key reforms Ukraine should finalize this year, namely the Ukrainian government should properly implement farmland and educational reforms, as well as labor market reform.